


The Fights You Can Win

by brothergrimace1



Category: Daria (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 12:45:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13271724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brothergrimace1/pseuds/brothergrimace1
Summary: Set in Roentgen's 'Legion of Lawndale Heroes (Daria/Legion of Super-Heroes) shared-world fanfic setting, this story deals with the Legionnaires as they prepare to deploy to assist in the aftermath of the 2017 Mexico City earthquake... whether they're ready or not.





	The Fights You Can Win

_The Fights You Can Win_

_A Legion of Lawndale Heroes ‘Mini’, by Brother Grimace_

**_Legion of Lawndale Heroes created by James Bowman_ **

 

_The Bowman Acts were never intended to be a suicide pact, or vows to be blindly followed even unto death. I wanted to make certain of that. During my years in government, I recognized a mindset in some military minds, as well as some political office-holders, who cleaved unto their political ideologies to the point of fanaticism usually found in religious cults) to indeed choose death for themselves and countless others, rather than to disobey orders when the choice of saving lives (and demonstrating common sense) - showed such disobedience to be the correct and moral choice._

_It was for that reason that Article One of the first of the legal documents that they would name after me - (Professor) Richard (Blumenberg) declined to have his name on them, he said that the ‘Blumenberg Laws’ or the ‘Bowman-Blumenberg Code’ didn’t have the same panache - was specifically written to allow an individual or a nation the use of metahuman assets in case of national emergency, when the lives of great numbers of its citizens were in mortal danger… even if the result was the potential exposure of metahumans, next-generation technology or the ‘Next World’ to the general public._

_Oh, yes. I always preferred ‘High Weirdness’ to ‘Next World’ in speaking on those creatures, artifacts and individuals with abilities of mystical origin. He got his language put in place in the documents, and he stuck my name on it. He felt it was a fair trade - and that he’d rather have the reporters come looking for me, first._

_\- Senator James Bowman, from The Last Founding Father: James Bowman and the Laws of the Next World, by Cinderella Jacks and Alison Cockrum, Ph.D_

 

_Oh, yeah. There was lots of bitching when the Colonel put his foot down about doing disaster relief missions. Daria was especially steamed when he stepped on the brakes over those three hurricanes that showed up in a row - you know, the ones that hit Texas, then Florida (ALL of Florida, it looked like) and then, Puerto Rico._

_That’s why it blew her (Daria’s) mind when we sat there and the Colonel (Armalin) told us what was going on. I think that if it wasn’t so serious, he would have laughed at the expression on her face._

_It it wasn’t for the stuff on TV we all saw, I know I’d have laughed at that expression._

_-from The Collected Diaries of Anastasia Rowe, Legionnaire_

 

_“You have to go out. You don’t have to come back.”_

_\- unofficial motto of the United States Coast Guard_

 

_NOTE: This 'Mini' takes place (in real time) sometime on Wednesday, September 20 - the day after the 2017 Mexico Earthquake. I was inspired to throw it together because of three things: the Earthquake and the story of the little girl trapped under the school's rubble, the argument made about the Legionnaires' going into the zone for Harvey, and the fact that I've wanted to do a fic with the Legion Espionage Squad for a while._

 

_I hate leg lifts. I really hate leg lifts…_

“Oh, _stop bitching in your head_ about how much you hate doing leg lifts, Daria!”

The annoying whine that had plagued her for nearly her entire life almost caused Daria to lose concentration - but she kept her feet fully six inches off the floor of the exercise room while she spared a few ergs of energy to growl at her sister.

“Besides - I happen to know for a fact that your friend Michael’s eyes just roll back in his head when he runs his hands over your abs!” Quinn cackled in a way that made Daria promise herself to kick her sister when she wasn’t looking - at the very moment the opportunity next presented itself. “I mean, there’s girls who are jealous as all get out of you because not only do you actually have abs, but they make your boobs more pronounced, too!”

Jaime forced himself not to laugh as he tapped Quinn on the shoulder. “You do know that _she will kick you_ when she gets up, right?”

Quinn snorted. “Daria’s never been faster than me. Did I tell you about the time _I tricked her out of our house on Groundhog Day to see if she was afraid of her shadow?_ She couldn’t catch me then, either!”

Only the sound of the alert siren going off kept Daria from kicking Quinn on the spot.

_“This is a Code Red One. Repeat - this is a Code Red One.”_

Colonel Armalin’s voice drew Daria from the floor in an instant. _“The following Legionnaires will report to the Main Conference Room immediately. M. Brainac. Chameleon. Wildcat. Micron. Cover Girl. Legionnaire White. This is not a drill.”_

Daria and Jaime disappeared through the exercise room doors before Quinn could say a single word.

 

*****

When Daria and the others reached the Main Conference room, they were surprised by the presence not only of Armalin…but also of _Tiffany Blum-Deckler_ , who was wearing her Legion uniform.

“I don’t get it,” Daria asked. “Why on earth are you referring to us by our _code-names_? Everyone knows who the hell we are anyway.”

“In other parts of the world, you’re not as famous,” Armalin said. “In which case, I highly recommend using those names. You should start getting used to using those names. They protect your privacy to some extent - _and they also remind you when you’re acting as Legionnaires_.”

“So where are we going?” Charles asked.

“ _Mexico City._ You’re being deployed as part of the rescue effort for the earthquake.” Armalin leaned forward at the table. “Political considerations are keeping the _Mexican Government_ from using any of their assets in the rescue, and from asking the American and Canadian governments from loaning any of theirs.”

“Wait a minute,” Daria said. “The Mexicans _asked_ for our help? Two things - one, _how do they even know about us in terms of having powers_ , and two - _you want us to go?_ What happened to _‘our not being ready’_ for those sort of rescue missions?”

“You _aren’t_ ready for the specific conditions and on-site needs for rescue efforts in those hurricane areas,” Armalin shot back. “The original assessment for that situation stands. The nature of the current emergency in Mexico City, the smaller scope of rescue efforts necessary and the time-frame involved before _rescue_ operations end and _recovery_ operations begin, means that the Legionnaires activated have specific abilities that will not only be _uniquely suited for rescue efforts in the area_ \- but can be used in such a manner _so as to minimize any possible detection of usage_.”

The Marine officer looked around the table, and then back to Daria. “In case of exposure - your group also possesses the means to determine the exact level of exposure, and to handle the situation without unpleasant measures being involved.”

“I understand,” Jodie spoke up. “May I?”

Armalin nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Daria and I will set up a secure area somewhere in the city, so she can scan for people trapped under rubble while I monitor all communications, direct our people so they can operate with minimal problems, and let them know about major trouble spots that they need to look into,” Jodie began. “I propose that we pair Chameleon, Cover Girl and White -”

“Jaime - you need to come up with a code-name, and _very soon_.” Daria beat Armalin to the punch, adopting Armalin’s line on the names.

“-in one group, while Wildcat, Wraith and Micron work together,” Jodie went on. “Wildcat, Chameleon - you can back up M’s psychic scans - because with so many millions of people, there may be too much background noise and she may miss someone who’s very weak-”

“Or who’s trapped in a building and unhurt, but _terrified_ ,” Fran volunteered.“I heard a reporter say that people are so afraid of another quake that they’re refusing to sleep inside their homes - so with all of those scared people thinking about being trapped, you may miss one or two who really are.”

“Exactly,” Jodie responded, as she turned back to Daria. “M. _This is not personal._ You’ve never been in a major city where you’ve had to use your powers in the manner you’ll need to here - and you may miss people. Oh, yeah. That psychic bracelet you got from the Academy - be sure to bring it along.”

“She’s right, Daria,” Stacy added. “I read _Watchmen_. We _don’t_ want what the ‘ _giant squid_ ’ did in New York.”

“That’s part of why the movie sucked,” Charles spoke up. “Anyway, Wildcat can scent out people trapped underground - both living and dead - and I’ll change into a _German Shepard Dog_ to help out with that, too. It’s a better breed for the work, and considering how attractive Brittany is - a huge dog like that’ll keep back all of the roaches who always come out of the woodwork after things like this, just waiting for a shot at someone unsuspecting and trying to help.”

Armalin didn’t know which impressed him more: that Charles gave his teammate a compliment without reverting back to his former, slimy girl-chasing persona, that Brittany took the compliment as simply a fact to be dealt with, instead of anything lascivious - or that Daria didn’t immediately bristle or take offense at Charles’ words.

“I get it!” Brittany piped up. “Stacy can sniff out people, and if they’re still alive, Fran can shrink down to find them, while Tiffany can just dive or walk through the stuff to get them out!”

“If they’re hurt badly, I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to shrink them and get them out - at least not for long,” Fran pointed out. “Shrinking living things is different than shrinking objects, and it’s stressful on other people. I’m still learning how to fully use that part of my power. Right now, I can only shrink people for sixty seconds - and if they go back to normal size in the wrong place…”

“Stacy spots them,” Tiffany broke in. “You fly in and find out exactly where they are, and I can come in and phase them to a safer spot under the rubble, where people can dig them out - or we just get them and say we dug them out. Daria does her mind thing, and that’s what they remember.”

“The same goes for you three,” Jodie said, as she looked in the direction of Charles, Brittany and Jaime. “If you need to use your gravity power to lift or even levitate rubble out of the way, Brittany can make you invisible, and it’ll look like unstable areas shifting or collapsing. Even if Brittany doesn’t do that, you can just look like you’re stronger than you look.”

“It’s funny that you mention that,” Jaime said. “Ever since this happened, I’ve been stronger than I ever was. I’ve got more endurance than ever before, and I can lift the tires for a pickup truck without thinking about them.”

Daria sat back in her chair. “Okay. As soon as the crew at Lawndale Airport gives the ready signal for the plane, we’re out of here. Everyone get your stuff; be ready in-”

“Hold on, Morgendorffer.” The way that Armalin spoke meant that Daria would be annoyed by his comment. “You’re going in as civilians, in a clandestine fashion. That means-”

A tiny thunderclap rocked everyone in the conference room as bright light shone from the spaces around the doorway to the conference room; the doors opened, and a tall, raven-haired young woman in a scarlet-and-black _USAES Elite Academy_ uniform walked through.

“Colonel Armalin,” the cadet said, saluting as she saw him rise. “Cadet Second Class Kendra Read. Cadet Commander Carlyle said that your team would need covert transport into Mexico City. DEXA got the official request thirty minutes ago, and _Special Powers Command_ gave the ‘go-order’ just now.”

Armalin looked her over before he spoke. “ _Special Powers_ decided to go with  cadets instead of active duty-personnel, Cadet Read?”

“At the moment, sir - we only have _five_ people in the entire SPC who can do pinpoint covert insertions,” she informed him. “They’re all overseas and can’t be pulled off-mission. The Academy has _seven_ \- but I’m the only one who’s field-certified, and my probability-control means that there won’t be slip-ups. I’ll get your people in without notice, sir.”

The room was rocked by a second tiny thunderclap, and the door opened to reveal a familiar face.

“I remember you!” Jaime said, as Danielle Todds walked into the room. “You - you helped Quinn and the others get rid of that _creature_ that went after Mister Demartino and Ms. DeFoe!”

Daria glanced over at the boy with a quizzical expression; before she could speak, Armalin caught everyone’s attention.

“Legionnaires - Cadet Todds has agreed to give all of you slight physical alterations to help you blend in with minimal risk of being recognized,” he informed them. “Ruttheimer, White - you’re excluded from this. Everyone else - nothing fancy, just enough to make you look different.”

“Bet you’re glad that no one recognizes you as a Legionnaire now, aren’t you?” Charles chuckled as he turned to Jaime.

“Don’t make me dunk you in another toilet, Chuck.” There was no malice in his tone. “This time, I’ll make you turn into a toilet brush first.”

“Oh, if I weren’t a gentleman,” Charles replied, his tone the same as Jaime’s. “The comments - and the stories - that I could tell…”

“Seal it up, laughing boys,” the Marine said. “Brainiac - take your guests to Prep Room One. Cadet Todds can do your alterations there - and you can launch from there after you get your equipment.”

“Colonel - a word, please?” Daria called out. “Everyone else - get moving.”

She waited until the room cleared. “First - you didn’t answer my question. How does the Mexican Government know about us?”

“ _Gabrielle Suarez_. When you discovered her remains, it opened the door to several other deaths - including a couple that the _Policía Feder_ _a_ _l_   were very interested in.”

Armalin cleared his throat before he continued on. “Pardon me. Do you _want_ me to continue on? I know that you have an irrational dislike of the _American_ metahuman school - _so do you really want to know anything about theirs?_”

Daria shrugged, and decided to let it go. “I still don’t get it. Why exactly are we ready for _this_ , when you didn’t think that we were ready for all the stuff down in Texas, Florida or Puerto Rico? What’s changed?”

“Apparently, you weren’t paying attention to your teammates-”

Yes. I was,” Daria interrupted. “It sounds as if you’re being hypocritical, or you’re just going to pick and choose-”

“Morgendorffer. _This is your team._ You run it the way you want - but a good commander knows _that if someone gives you good advice that protects your people, you should at least consider it._” Armalin turned to look directly at Daria. “Do you want to know exactly why I think that you should go try to help people down there in Mexico?”

Daria returned his gaze with equal intensity. “Why?”

“Sometimes, you get into fights you know that you’ll lose - but you have to do it anyway,” he told her. “Other times, there are fights that you want to get into - but you don’t know or don’t want to accept that you’re going to lose, because you don’t accept that you weren’t ready for that fight. That was the hurricane.”

The tiny woman held her ground. “And what’s different about this?”

“Smaller area of engagement, fewer victims to deal with but enough to become acquainted with the general feel of a mass-casualty event, you’ll have greater freedom of movement, a limited time in the field-”

“Excuse me?” Daria cocked her head. “How long are we going to be down there?”

“Being realistic - you’ll probably be back within thirty-six hours, forty-eight on the outside,” Armalin told her. “By then, anyone you can’t locate is dead - and you’ll be able to give the workers gentle suggestions as to where they should look for bodies.”

Armalin closed the file on the table beside him. “ _This is a clearly-defined mission that the people chosen to go in are specifically empowered and qualified to accomplish._ Blum-Deckler’s received standardized Academy metahuman training that involves rescue scenarios such as what you’ll deal with in Mexico City - and you do know that White received his _American Red Cross_ First Aid certificate during his freshman year in high school, yes?”

Daria shook her head. “I didn’t know that. I still think that Jane should go, though.”

“I guess he decided that he needed to patch up his father if he got hurt during one of his drunken episodes,” Armalin informed her. “As for Lane - look at the people going and their powers. You know that Lane’s powers are too overt for the mission, given it’s delicate nature - and you also know that bringing her along simply because she’s your best friend defeats the purpose.”

“So we’re keeping the idea behind the _Legion Espionage_ and _Heavy Squads_ going.”

“When you need them,” Armalin told her. “Specialized units are sometimes best for certain duties - don’t you agree?”

“So you’re okay with us doing this - just because you think that _this_ is something that we can handle.” Daria shook her head. “Even as bad as it is, with all of the dead and injured people down there?”

Armalin picked up the folder. “If you’re lucky, Morgendorffer, you’ll never need to fight - metaphorically speaking, of course. However, if you have to choose to fight - _choose the fights that you can win_. I’ll see you when you return.”

 

**END**

 

21 August 2017


End file.
